Detection of infectious prions in urine

Dennisse Gonzalez-Romero; Marcelo A Barria; Patricia Leon; Rodrigo Morales; Claudio Soto

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2008.08.003

Detection of infectious prions in urine

Dennisse Gonzalez-Romero, Marcelo A Barria, Patricia Leon, Rodrigo Morales, Claudio Soto

Deanery of Clinical Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

Prions are the infectious agents responsible for prion diseases, which appear to be composed exclusively by the misfolded prion protein (PrP(Sc)). The mechanism of prion transmission is unknown. In this study, we attempted to detect prions in urine of experimentally infected animals. PrP(Sc) was detected in approximately 80% of the animals studied, whereas no false positives were observed among the control animals. Semi-quantitative calculations suggest that PrP(Sc) concentration in urine is around 10-fold lower than in blood. Interestingly, PrP(Sc) present in urine maintains its infectious properties. Our data indicate that low quantities of infectious prions are excreted in the urine. These findings suggest that urine is a possible source of prion transmission.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3161-6
Number of pages	6
Journal	FEBS Letters
Volume	582
Issue number	21-22
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2008.08.003
Publication status	Published - 22 Sept 2008

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

Animals
Cricetinae
Disease Models, Animal
False Positive Reactions
Mesocricetus
PrPSc Proteins
Scrapie

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10.1016/j.febslet.2008.08.003

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title = "Detection of infectious prions in urine",

abstract = "Prions are the infectious agents responsible for prion diseases, which appear to be composed exclusively by the misfolded prion protein (PrP(Sc)). The mechanism of prion transmission is unknown. In this study, we attempted to detect prions in urine of experimentally infected animals. PrP(Sc) was detected in approximately 80% of the animals studied, whereas no false positives were observed among the control animals. Semi-quantitative calculations suggest that PrP(Sc) concentration in urine is around 10-fold lower than in blood. Interestingly, PrP(Sc) present in urine maintains its infectious properties. Our data indicate that low quantities of infectious prions are excreted in the urine. These findings suggest that urine is a possible source of prion transmission.",

keywords = "Animals, Cricetinae, Disease Models, Animal, False Positive Reactions, Mesocricetus, PrPSc Proteins, Scrapie",

author = "Dennisse Gonzalez-Romero and Barria, {Marcelo A} and Patricia Leon and Rodrigo Morales and Claudio Soto",

year = "2008",

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doi = "10.1016/j.febslet.2008.08.003",

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journal = "FEBS Letters",

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number = "21-22",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Detection of infectious prions in urine

AU - Gonzalez-Romero, Dennisse

AU - Barria, Marcelo A

AU - Leon, Patricia

AU - Morales, Rodrigo

AU - Soto, Claudio

PY - 2008/9/22

Y1 - 2008/9/22

N2 - Prions are the infectious agents responsible for prion diseases, which appear to be composed exclusively by the misfolded prion protein (PrP(Sc)). The mechanism of prion transmission is unknown. In this study, we attempted to detect prions in urine of experimentally infected animals. PrP(Sc) was detected in approximately 80% of the animals studied, whereas no false positives were observed among the control animals. Semi-quantitative calculations suggest that PrP(Sc) concentration in urine is around 10-fold lower than in blood. Interestingly, PrP(Sc) present in urine maintains its infectious properties. Our data indicate that low quantities of infectious prions are excreted in the urine. These findings suggest that urine is a possible source of prion transmission.

AB - Prions are the infectious agents responsible for prion diseases, which appear to be composed exclusively by the misfolded prion protein (PrP(Sc)). The mechanism of prion transmission is unknown. In this study, we attempted to detect prions in urine of experimentally infected animals. PrP(Sc) was detected in approximately 80% of the animals studied, whereas no false positives were observed among the control animals. Semi-quantitative calculations suggest that PrP(Sc) concentration in urine is around 10-fold lower than in blood. Interestingly, PrP(Sc) present in urine maintains its infectious properties. Our data indicate that low quantities of infectious prions are excreted in the urine. These findings suggest that urine is a possible source of prion transmission.

KW - Animals

KW - Cricetinae

KW - Disease Models, Animal

KW - False Positive Reactions

KW - Mesocricetus

KW - PrPSc Proteins

KW - Scrapie

U2 - 10.1016/j.febslet.2008.08.003

DO - 10.1016/j.febslet.2008.08.003

M3 - Article

C2 - 18706416

SN - 0014-5793

VL - 582

SP - 3161

EP - 3166

JO - FEBS Letters

JF - FEBS Letters

IS - 21-22

ER -

Detection of infectious prions in urine

Abstract

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

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